BES 131 Fluid Mechanics

Topic 2
Fluid Properties

Objectives:

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

1. Define system, boundary, surroundings, state, process and property.

2. Define density, specific gravity, and specific weight.
3. Relate the properties of fluids using calculations.

Overview:
1. Fluid Properties
2. System, Property, and State
3. Characterizing Mass and Weight

1. Fluid Properties

Fluid properties determine the behaviour of fluids which plays an important role in the
determination of how these fluids can be used in engineering and technology. Properties are
considered to be either intensive or extensive. Intensive properties are those that are independent
of the mass of a system, such as temperature and pressure. Extensive properties are those whose
values depend on the size or extent of the system such as total mass, total volume, and total
momentum.

2. System, Property, and State

A system is the specific entity that is being studied or analyzed. It can be a collection of
matter, or it can be a region in space. Anything that is not part of the system is considered to be
part of the surroundings. The boundary is the imaginary surface that separates the system from
its surroundings.

Suppose that we want to analyze the air flow from a tank being used by the scuba diver as
shown in Figure 2.1. We might select a system comprised of the tank and the regulator. For this
system, everything that is external to the tank and regulator is the surroundings.

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Systems are described by specifying numbers that characterize the system. The numbers
are called properties.

A property is a measurable characteristic of a system that depends only on the present

conditions within the system. For example, the measurable characteristics in Figure 2.1 are the
pressure of the air inside the tank, the density of the air inside the tank, and the weight of the
system (tank, air, and regulator).

The state of a system is the condition of the system as defined by specifying its
properties. When a system changes from one state to another state, this is called a process. When
the properties of a system are constant with time, the system is said to be at steady state.

For example, Figure 2.2 shows air being compressed by a piston in a cylinder. The air
inside the cylinder is defined as the system. At state 1, the conditions of the system are defined
by specifying properties such as pressure, temperature, and density. Similarly, state 2 is defined
by specifying the same properties. When air is compressed, this is a process because the air has

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changed from one set of conditions to another set of conditions.

3. Characterizing Mass and Weight

We can characterize the mass and weight of a fluid with three properties: density, specific
weight, and specific gravity.

3.1 Mass Density, 𝜌(𝑟ℎ𝑜)

The mass density, or density, of a fluid is its mass per unit volume. This property of fluid
is a quantitative expression of the amount of mass contained per unit volume.

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑚
𝜌= =
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑉
For an ideal gas, the density can be found from the specific gas constant and ideal gas
law:
𝑝
𝜌=
𝑅𝑇
Where:

𝑝 = 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑎

𝑅 = 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒/𝑘𝑔. 𝐾

𝐽 𝑙𝑏.𝑓𝑡
For air: 𝑅 = 287 = 1,716
𝑘𝑔.𝐾 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔.°𝑅

𝑇 = 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛

𝑇𝐾 = 273 + 𝑇℃

𝑇°𝑅 = 460 + 𝑇℉

For water at 4℃:

𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠 𝑘𝑔
𝜌 = 1.94 3
= 1000 3
𝑓𝑡 𝑚

In general, density varies with both temperature and pressure. However for liquids, the
density is changed very little by changes in pressure, so it can be assumed that density
depends on temperature only. Figure 2.3 shows densities for common liquids.

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If not stated in the problem, we can use the average densities of the common fluids in
Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Approximate Densities of Common Fluids

Fluid 𝜌 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
Air (STP) 1.29
Air (21℉, 1atm) 1.20
Alcohol 790
Ammonia 602
Gasoline 720
Glycerine 1260
Mercury 13600
Water 1000

Specific Volume, 𝑉𝑠

Specific volume is the volume occupied by a unit mass of fluid. It is the ratio of volume
to mass.

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𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑉 1
𝑉𝑠 = = =
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑚 𝜌

3.2 Specific Weight or Unit Weight, 𝛾(𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑎)

Specific weight is the weight of a unit volume of a fluid.

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑊
𝛾= =
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑉
To relate specific weight and density, recall that weight and mass are related by 𝑊 =
𝑚𝑔.

𝑊 𝑚𝑔
𝛾= = = 𝜌𝑔
𝑉 𝑉
For water at 4℃:

𝑙𝑏 𝑘𝑁
𝛾 = 62. .4 3
= 9.81 3
𝑓𝑡 𝑚

3.3 Specific Gravity, 𝑆 𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝐺

Specific gravity, which is represented as S or SG, is a dimensionless ratio of a fluid’s

density to some standard reference density. For liquids and solids the reference density is
water at 4℃.
𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝛾𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑆= =
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

In gases, the standard reference to calculate specific gravity is the density of air.
𝜌𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝛾𝑔𝑎𝑠
𝑆= =
𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝛾𝑎𝑖𝑟

For water at 4℃:

𝑆 = 1.0

The properties 𝜌, 𝛾, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆 are related; if one of these properties is known, the other two
can be calculated.

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Sample Problem 1

A reservoir of glycerine has a mass of 1200 kg and a volume of 0.952 𝑚3 . Find the
glycerine’s weight, mass density, specific weight, and specific gravity.

Solution:

The force due to gravity, weight, can be computed using the second law of motion expressed as

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎

Where:

𝐹 = 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝑊)

𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝑎 = 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 , 𝑔 = 9.81 𝑚/𝑠 2

Weight:
𝑚
𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 = (1200 𝑘𝑔) (9.81 ) = 11,772 𝑁
𝑠2
Answer.

Mass Density:

𝑚 1200 𝑘𝑔
𝜌= = = 1260.50 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑉 0.952 𝑚3
Answer.

Specific Weight:

𝑊 11772 𝑁
𝛾= = 𝜌𝑔 = = (1260.50 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 )(9.81 𝑚/𝑠 2 ) = 12365.55 𝑁/𝑚3
𝑉 0.952 𝑚3
𝛾 = 12.366 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3

Answer.

Specific Gravity:

𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝛾𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 1260.50 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 12.366 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3

𝑆= = = = = 1.26
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 1000 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 9.81 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3

Answer.

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Sample Problem 2

A body requires a force of 100 N to accelerate it at a rate of 0.23 𝑚/𝑠 2 . Determine the
mass of the body in kilograms and in slugs.

Solution:

Using second law of motion, the corresponding mass of the body is

𝐹 100 𝑁
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 → 𝑚 = = = 434.78 𝑘𝑔
𝑎 0.23 𝑚/𝑠 2

Answer.

In slugs:

Recall that 1 slug is equal to 14.59 kg. The equivalent mass in slugs is

1 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔
𝑚 = 434.48 𝑘𝑔 ( ) = 29.8 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠
14.59 𝑘𝑔

Answer.

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Sample Problem 3

The specific gravity of ethyl alcohol is 0.79. Calculate its specific weight in pounds per
cubic foot and density in kilograms per cubic meter.

Solution:

Specific gravity of liquid can be solved using

𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝛾𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑆= =
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

From the above relations, the specific weight of liquid is

𝛾𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 = 𝑆𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = (0.79)(62.4 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3 ) = 49.30 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3

Answer.

And the density of liquid in terms of its specific gravity is

𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 = 𝑆𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = (0.79)(1000 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 ) = 790 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3

Answer.

Note that you can also solve it using

𝛾𝑙
𝜌𝑙 =
𝑔

As discussed in this section, for as long as one of the properties is known, the other properties
can be calculated.

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PROBLEMS

1. Calculate the density of water vapour at 350 kPa abs and 20℃ if its gas constant is
0.462 𝑘𝑃𝑎. 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔. 𝐾

2. Air is kept at a pressure of 200 kPa abs and a temperature of 30℃ in a 500-L container.
What is the mass of the air?

3. If the specific volume of a certain gas is 0.7848 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔, what is its specific gravity?

4. A cylindrical tank 80 cm in diameter and 90 cm high is filled with a liquid. The tank and
the liquid weighed 420 kg. The weight of the empty tank is 40 kg. What is the specific
gravity of the liquid?

5. The specific weight of a certain gas is 12.5 𝑛/𝑚3. What is its specific volume?

6. A lead cube has a total mass of 80 kg. What is the length of its side if the specific gravity
of lead is 11.3?

7. One cubic foot of glycerine has a mass of 2.44 slugs. Find its specific weight in 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 .

8. A quart of SAE 30 oil at 68℉ weighs about 1.85 lb. Calculate the oil’s specific weight
and specific gravity.

9. The volume of a rock is found to be 0.00015 𝑚3. If the rock’s specific gravity is 2.60,
what is its mass?

10. A 200 𝑓𝑡 3 of oil has a specific weight of 52.6 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3 . Calculate its mass and specific
gravity.

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References

• Elger, D., Williams, B., Crowe, C., & Roberson, J. (2014). Engineering fluid mechanics
(10th Edition). Singapore: John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte.Ltd.

• Giles, R., Evett, & J., Liu, C. (2013). Fluid mechanics and hydraulics (4th Edition). United
States: McGraw-Hill Education.

• Pritchard, P. (2011). Introduction to fluid mechanics (8th Edition). United States of

America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Finnemore, E. & Franzini, J. (2001). Fluid mechanics with engineering applications (10 th
Edition). Boston, MA, United States: McGraw-Hill Education.

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